Unmanned Russian Cargo Ship Departs Space Station

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A robotic Russian cargo ship made its final departure from the
International Space Station yesterday (July 30), after spending
several months attached to the orbiting outpost.

The unmanned Russian
Progress 47 cargo ship undocked from the space station on
Monday at 5:19 p.m. EDT (2119 GMT), as both spacecraft flew over
Kazakhstan, according to NASA officials. After backing a safe
distance away from the complex, the cargo freighter will conduct
several weeks of unrelated engineering tests, before it is
deliberately sent to burn up in Earth's atmosphere over the
Pacific Ocean.

Russia's disposable Progress vehicles are used to ferry clothing,
food and other supplies to the International Space Station. The
cargo ships remain parked at the outpost for several months, and
after the astronauts aboard the station unpack the cargo, the
spacecraft are typically filled with trash and other unwanted
items.

Before leaving the space station, the Progress 47 spacecraft
conducted a test of an upgraded docking system that Russia
intends to use on future unmanned Progress and manned Soyuz
vehicles. The Progress 47 successfully completed the docking test
on its second try, after a first attempt on July 23 was
prematurely
aborted due to a technical glitch.

To conduct the test, the Progress 47 initially undocked from the
space station on July 22. The cargo ship was expected to
automatically park itself at the Pirs
docking compartment on the Russian segment of the space
station the following day, but the attempt failed and the
maneuver was aborted.

Russian engineers traced the glitch to lower-than-expected
temperatures on the docking system. After adjustments were made,
the spacecraft successfully re-docked to the space station on
Saturday (July 28).

The successful test of the Kurs-NA docking system was a
demonstration of an updated version of the Kurs system that has
been integrated into Russian spacecraft for years. Several
upgrades were made to the newer version, including better
electronics that are expected to use less power and improve
safety.

The Progress 47 arrived at the space station in April to deliver
clothing, food and other supplies to the astronauts living aboard
the space lab.

The next Russian cargo ship, Progress 48, is slated to launch to
the space station on Wednesday (Aug. 1) from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.